Process of treating leatherboard



Fascia. 9, 1932.. w. P. RANKIN PROCESS OF TREATING LEATHERBOARD Filed July 22, 1950 Patented Feb. 9, 1932 WALTER it. RANKIN, F BOSTON, MASSAGH'U SETTS PROCESS OF TREATING LEATHEBIBOARD Application filed July 22,

My invention relates to a method of treating leatherboard particularly for use in the manufacture of shoe heels.

Experience has demonstrated that laminatli ed articles constructed from ordinary leatherboard, the cut face of which is drab and toneless, present to rospective purchasers edge faces having a at, unattractive appearance "with the result that definite sales resistance to laminated leatherboard articles is created notwithstanding the well known advantages of leatherboard over leather.

The principal object of my invention is to devise a method of treating leatherboard whereby the product of the method may be used in constructing laminated articles having improved edge faces that render the article, for example a shoe heel, attractive to purchasers.

such others as may appear hereinafter, the features of the invention reside in a process of treating leatherboard hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim, which possesses advantages readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

lvly invention will best be understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings illustrating leatherboard, treated in accordance with the preferred mode of practicing the invention, and a shoe heel constructed from the treated leather-board, in which:

Figure l is a view, in perspective, of the treated leatherhoard; v

Fig. 2 is a view, in elevation, of a shoe heel in the manufacture of which the treated leatherboard is used; and v Fig. 3 is aview, in perspective, of a heel lift as an example of one of the many shapes that may he (linked from the treated leatherboard, or treated individually as may be desired, and then used in building a heel.

in the drawings the thickness of depth of the coating at the treated face of the leathered or virginal edge face has been somewhat exaggerated in order to present a clear optical distinction between the two.

. Referring to the drawings I take a sheet of leather-board manufactured in the usual To the accomplishment of this object, and

hoard relative to the thickness of its untreat- 1930.. swarm). 469,707.

way from any desirable formula and provide at least one face thereof with a thin coat 5 of some substance characteristically differing from leatherboard. By coat I mean a layer or covering of any substance, applied to the 155 face coated, preferably one having a color in contrast to the natural drab color of the leatherboard. The coat, at the time of its application to the leatherboard, may be a solid or a liquid. Preferably the coat 5 is a liquid coating material which may be uniformly applied to the leatherboard. The liquid coating material may be paint or lacquer and may form a surface coat or act as a stain or dye and penetrate the leatherboard below the coated surface.

I propose to out the large sheet into smaller pieces and such piecescut from the treated leatherboard may be heel lifts 6 (Fig. 3) for manufacturing a shoe heel 7 (Fig. 2). The 'heel lifts 6 may be dinked out of the treated leatherboard in any usual manner. When the heel lifts 6 are stratified, superposed or built up in the usual manner, care being taken to Isleparzate the coated surfaces, they form the eel I As shown in Fig. 2 the coats 5 on the lifts 6 appear on the edge face of the heel 7 as narrow spaced streaks 8 of a contrasting color which relieve the drab effect of the leatherboard and impart an attractivevariegatedappearance to the circumferential surface of the heel. When the heel is filled and burnished after the usual heel finishing practice, either off or on the shoe, the more or less definite lines of demarkation vare toned down, one edge shade or color being merged into angtliiier so that the streaks are not so sharply e no It will be'apparent to those skilled in the art that the heel lifts 6, or any other shape of piece for any particular laminated article that is to be formed, may be provided with, the coat'5 individually after they have been dinked out of an' untreated sheet of leather board. For a more pronounced streaky effect both flat faces maybe coated.

Having thus described my novel method and one mode of practicing it when employing its underlying principle, yet recognizing that some modifications and changes maybe i made without departing from its spirit and S00 e, what is claimed as new is:-

at improvement in leatherboard which consists'in staining at least one flat face thereof with a liquid capableof penetrating said face and of a color for tinting the edge face of the leatherboard throughout the depth of said penetration dinking out heel lifts from the treate leatherboard, and building the heel lifts into a heel.

In testimony whereof I afiix my s' ature.

I WALTER P. RA

the art of treating 

